Mutli-million dollar Tatu City in Kenya appoints US firm to plan for power supply

An artist impression of Tatu City in Kenya. The Industrial complex has appointed Power Engineers Inc as power consultants.

A multi-million satellite complex Tatu City in Kenya , has announced that it had appointed US-based firm Power Engineers Inc to plan on power infrastructure for use within the industrial complex.

Power Engineers is one of the largest consulting engineering firms in the United States

Tatu City in Kenya management said that The Power Engineers Inc is well suited for the job having worked with clients such as the World Bank, US Trade and Development Agency and Inter-American Development Bank.

This latest deal is a strong indication that the project will be implemented year after stalling. The project was marred with court cases over land ownership a year after its construction kicked off in 2010.

But in a move that signals its implementation is finally looking up, China’s Sinohydro signed an agreement last month worth Sh400 million to set up basic infrastructure for water, sewerage and temporary road works relating to the first phase of the project.

The satellite city has especially attracted real estate investors who have expressed strong interest in the project, with more than 60 per cent of plots in Tatu City’s first residential phase, Kijani Ridge, sold.

Firms that have committed to take up space at the upcoming complex includes coffee company Dormans, tissue maker Kim-Fay, Heineken beverages distributor Maxam and Unilever which is set to build a manufacturing facility within its 420-acre light industrial zone within the proposed industrial city.

Tatu city will be constructed in 10 phases until 2022, when it is set for completion. The mixed-use satellite city will house 77,000 residents, and will tap on the city economies in the country, amidst growing middle-class and urbanization trends. It will be a decentralized urban center.

The ambitious plan is a partnership venture between Renaissance Partners, the principal investing arm of emerging markets firm Renaissance Group and Kenyan investors. In a move that is set to put Kenya on the world map as a technology hub, Kenya is also constructing a multimillion dollar Konza techno city.